


Freaks Should Stick Together

by penguinbandit523



Category: Creepypasta - Fandom, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Not Canon Compliant, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, darker harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-25
Updated: 2016-04-25
Packaged: 2018-06-04 09:22:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6652135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penguinbandit523/pseuds/penguinbandit523
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I originally posted this on fanfiction (same user name)</p>
<p>HP and creepypasta crossover. A slightly darker Harry accidentally befriends the organ stealing, Eyeless Jack. It's horror for the Dursleys and Dumbledore, but the start of a new life for Harry. Oneshot, with an extra chapter of "Bonus Scenes". Complete.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I wrote this when I was very much into creepypastas (still am, I like to play them while at work... alone, in the basement floor of my campus... I'm a glutton for punishment I guess ^^"). Anyway, one of my favorite characters is Eyeless Jack (not so much his original story, but the character, definitely), but I hadn't come across too many stories with this character, which is such a shame because I think the character has a lot of potential. I kind of view him similar to Kurama (Yu Yu Hakusho) could be written - having a demon side and a human side, and the ability to switch between them; scary, coldly logical to more human and emotional. 
> 
> And because I love Harry Potter crossovers (usually), here we are: a test to see if I could apply a little humanity to this character. Enjoy!  
> Brief warning: the HP universe and Harry are both a little darker in this.

The sound of a door slam echoed through the house, followed shortly by mumbled swears and the footsteps of several people. The Dursley family stepped into the warm house, with seven year old Harry Potter trailing in quietly after them. Vernon was still grumbling about getting caught in a downpour, while Dudley whined about the rain ruining his trip to the amusement park. Petunia was wearing an unpleasant look as she hung up everyone’s coat. She turned to Harry after she finished. 

“Hurry up and get changed,” she ordered before heading upstairs to put her purse away. 

Harry, who had been dressed in a very thin jacket during their outing, was soaked all the way through from the heavy rain. He went into his room, the cupboard under the stairs, and emerged a few minutes later in dry, though very large, clothing. His aunt came back down the stairs and dragged him into the kitchen by his arm. 

“You’re making dinner tonight,” she told him, and then went into the fridge. She pulled out a thawed but uncooked turkey. “Just because the Jeffersons canceled our dinner plans for tomorrow doesn’t mean this should go to waste.” 

She dropped the bird on the counter and turned back to him. “Make it tonight. We haven’t eaten yet anyway, and poor Dudders could use a nice big meal after having his day ruined. So don’t screw it up!” She screeched. 

As she left the kitchen, she announced that she was going to go spend the rest of her evening cheering up her son and spending time with her family. 

When she was gone Harry sighed but got to work. He dragged the stool over so he could reach the counter and washed his hands. While doing so, he glanced at the kitchen window with the side of his eye and froze: an ominous figure was peering in. He cautiously turned his head towards the window… 

But the figure was gone. 

He climbed up on the stool and looked out into the dark and stormy night, but there was no trace of anyone; no footprints in the mud, no sound of footfalls on the pavement, no sound of anyone breathing, nothing. 

He took a deep breath and calmed himself, sure that it had just been his imagination. His uncle often said he always had his head in the clouds, in a mean way of course, but Harry didn’t think it was such a bad thing. 

Harry turned back to the turkey and took the bag of giblets out from inside of the bird. He remembered how his aunt told him, with a disgusted face, that the bag of organs was left inside because some people used them to make gravy. She had told him to just use jarred gravy, as she tried not to look squeamish throwing the bag away. 

Harry didn’t want to get down off the stool and walk all the way to the trash at that moment, so he left the bag on the counter and began to rinse the turkey, remembering he’ll have to put bleach in the sink later or his aunt would lecture him about germs. He continued to prepare the bird – salting it, stuffing it with instant stuffing, and seasoning it. He had to practically drag it over to the oven and use all his strength to get it in. 

After taking a minute to catch his breath, he went over to the sink to wash his hands. While drying them, he remembered the bag of giblets on the counter. He looked over at it and saw that it had spilled over slightly; one of the organs was laying halfway out of the bag. 

He walked over to it and, out of morbid curiosity, pinched the escaping organ between his index finger and thumb, and dragged it the rest of the way out of the bag. He examined the bloody organ in his hand, turning it over, wondering if it was the liver because of its color and shape. 

A sudden noise came from the window and Harry jerked his head in that direction. His breath caught in his throat and he felt paralyzed. The figure from before was back, staring straight at Harry. It was a man, at least he thought it was, who wore a black hoodie that blended into the night, and an unsettling dark blue mask. The mask lacked a nose or a mouth but had large eyeholes of pure black that made you feel as if you were looking into an abyss, and from those gaping holes leaked a thick, black goo that spread out almost like tear tracks; they gave you the impression that the man had no eyes. 

Harry’s eyes were wide and his body was stiff, too afraid to move. After what felt like an eternity, the man made a minuscule movement and turned his head slightly. Confused, Harry risked a glance in that direction: his hand holding the (he assumed) liver. Wondering if this was what the man was really staring at, he decided to tilt his arm down slightly, and the man’s head moved along with it. 

But the man took his eyes off of the liver and now stared at Harry’s face again. Harry stopped moving and gulped. They stared at each other for a full minute before the man went back to looking at the giblet in Harry’s hand. During the next few minutes he didn’t turn back to look at Harry again. 

Gathering up his courage, Harry decided to do something, and took a step closer to the window. Although the man’s mask obscured his face entirely, Harry thought the man would have had a surprised look on his face. That was the only movement from the mysterious figure though, so Harry decided to take another step closer, then another, then another. He reached the stool and paused for a moment, before stepping onto it, and leaned slightly onto the counter until he was right up to the window. Slowly, he extended his hand and held the liver up to the windowpane. 

But he did not open the window. 

Apparently, he didn’t need to: in a split second the man opened the window, reached inside, and snatched the organ from Harry’s hand. Surprised, Harry yelped and fell backwards off the stool. 

He scrambled to get up as quickly as he could, and was fast enough to see the man lift up part of his mask and bite into the liver. Harry’s jaw hung open as he watched. Though he knew that people ate animal liver, and has even had to cook it before, he didn’t know anyone who would want to eat it raw. Until now at least. Harry tilted his head to the side as he watched the man devour the rest of it like a starving animal. 

When the man finished, he looked back at Harry and copied his head tilt. Harry, surprised and curious by this, tilted his head the other way, and the man imitated him again. Harry couldn’t help but giggle; being only seven, the idea of being copied by this odd man was amusing. Harry righted his head (which the man also imitated) and walked over to the bag with the rest of the giblets. He picked it up and set it on the counter close to the windowsill but not on it. Once again, the man snatched it before Harry could even blink. 

Harry opened his mouth to ask the man something, but was interrupted by a shout from the living room. 

“You better not be lollygagging in there, boy!” 

Harry turned towards the living room and called back “no, uncle Vernon” before turning back to the window. The man was gone. 

X

The man did not appear at the window again as Harry finished cooking dinner. 

xX

Harry set the dining room table and brought the food in. He called the Dursleys in for dinner and they all sat down to eat. Despite being the one to cook, Harry got the smallest portion. He didn’t mind too much though, since he had been able to sneak some food while cooking it. During the actual eating of the meal, everyone was silent except for the sounds of chewing and swallowing. It was after the meal that Vernon started complaining about the food, saying how it came out so subpar because Harry “probably spent too much time fooling around and laughing” instead of cooking.

Harry was used to his uncle complaining about everything he did, so he tried his best to tune him out and looked anything but Vernon. His eyes landed on one of the dining room windows, and there was the man from before, looking in again! 

His eyes widened slightly, but he did not call attention to the man. He wondered what the man was doing back here. He was too young to understand that the man was probably dangerous; he only knew that in a way he liked the odd, eyeless man who peered in windows, ate raw organs, and imitated him, but who didn’t yell at him or call him a freak. In the child’s mind, since he didn’t appear to be hurting anyone, he must be okay, albeit weird. 

Harry’s train of thought was interrupted by a shove. He looked up at his uncle towering over him, his face red and eyes glaring.

“Are you even listening to me, boy?” 

“Yes, Uncle Vernon,” he responded quietly, now looking at the floor. 

Vernon grumbled and told Harry to clean up while they got ready for bed. 

Harry waited until the Dursleys left the room before looking back at the window. The man was gone again.

xX

The man once again watched through a window into the Dursley residence, but this time Harry did not see him. Harry was just finishing cleaning up, looking exhausted. The eyeless man watched the little boy while he reflected everything that had happened these past few hours. 

It was customary for him to observe the habits of his future victims – who they were, where they slept, how deep they slept, places he could hide in the darkness – but the actions of the little black haired boy (who hadn’t been called anything but “boy” all evening) intrigued him. Not only had he not run screaming at the first sight of him, _which would have been messy_ , the man thought, but had actually given him organs.

 _Turkey organs, and not kidneys_ , he thought to himself, _but at least it was something_. 

He had been so hungry, his stomach had growled loud enough to attract the boy’s attention in the first place. 

The masked man thought about what he saw after dinner: a whale of a man knocking a small child to the ground, and not just any child, but the little child who gave him food! 

The boy didn’t even react after it happened, so this type of thing must be normal for them. He knew this was wrong. He may be a demon now, or something like that since he wasn’t even sure, but he was human once. He knew how families were supposed to act and it wasn’t like that. 

He watched as the boy finally finished and started to get ready for bed; his room was apparently a cupboard under the stairs. He raised an eyebrow under the mask. He knew from the number of windows that there were four bedrooms upstairs, so making this boy sleep in a cupboard was ridiculous. 

The boy emerged from the cupboard and went into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. After drinking it and washing the glass, he started to head back towards his “room” but was intercepted by the other boy. 

The larger boy roughly pushed the black haired one in the stomach, causing smaller boy to cry out in pain as he hunched over and fell on his knees. The bratty child just continued on his way to the kitchen as if he hadn’t done anything, and came back out with a glass of milk a minute later. The larger boy saw that the smaller boy was still kneeling in pain and kicked the black haired boy in the side, causing him to fall fully on the floor. The larger boy smirked back at the smaller one and called “goodnight, freak” as he stomped up the stairs. 

The man actually growled at what happened. 

xX  
In the dead of night, the man crept through the kitchen window and made his way into the house. He paused only briefly as what felt like a large, invisible spider web wrapped around him, but it wasn’t enough to hold him back. 

_Maybe it was a ward_ , he thought, _like the ones The Operator puts around his mansion_. He shrugged it off and continued inside. 

The occupants of the house had long since gone to bed. 

The woman had come down before the boy could pick himself off the floor, had screamed at him for “lying about” and practically threw him into the cupboard and locked it. 

The man snatched the key from where he had seen her hang it and, as quietly as he could, unlocked and eased the cupboard door open. It creaked a bit, but the boy did not awaken. 

He looked upon the sleeping child and pondered his choices. 

On the one hand, here was an easy meal. A child who was disliked by his family enough that he was sure he could harvest his kidneys without the family even batting an eye at the incision. He bet he could harvest all of his organs without the family even caring. 

On the other hand though, his human side kind of liked the odd little child. Yes, he did have the unholy need to feast on human organs, but his human side allowed him to approach it logically – he could pick and choose which humans he ate from, so he didn’t have to eat from this one. In fact, his human side might feel guilty about it. 

However, it might not feel guilty about taking from the other three occupants of the house. He smiled sadistically at the thought of those uptight bastards waking up and seeing the cut on their sides, or better yet, being told that their kidneys were taken! 

He chuckled silently as he closed and re-locked the cupboard door. He barely even noticed that as he did so, the “spider web feeling” completely vanished. He made his way upstairs with a scalpel in hand that gleamed in the moonlight of every passing window. 

xX

Chaos struck the Dursley household the next morning. 

The Dursleys had woken up earlier than normal from a severe pain in their sides; a large gash seeming to be the culprit. Petunia sobbed, shrieked, and held Dudley to her chest while he too cried about the gash. Vernon puffed up in outrage and forcefully removed Harry from his cupboard, yelling and accusing him of cutting them up in their sleep. 

Harry denied all of it, no matter how much Vernon threatened. 

Petunia eventually stopped the interrogation and they all went to the hospital. 

After examining the identical wounds and telling them that their kidneys had been removed, Petunia started crying again, while Vernon glared hatefully at Harry, still believing that the seven year old was capable of doing this. 

The doctor suddenly asked if anyone in the family had seen “a man in a blue mask, with seemingly no eyes” at any point last night, or even in the last few days. The Dursley parents looked confused, and Vernon started sputtering about being asked questions of non-sense. Harry looked surprised that she knew about the man, but fortunately no one was looking at Harry anymore. 

The doctor ordered them to calm down or she would have a nurse forcefully sedate them. The Dursleys calmed and she explained that, while uncommon, this has happened to people before, and in some cases the victim will wake up to find a man in a blue mask with large, empty eyeholes, staring down at them before or after taking their kidneys. 

Dudley burst out crying that he thought he saw a man like that standing over him, but thought it was just a dream. Petunia hugged him and cried along with him, while Vernon demanded that the doctor tell him everything about this man. 

Harry had looked shocked and slightly fearful since the doctor asked them if they had seen the man. _The man at the window did it_? Harry thought to himself. _But why didn’t he take my kidneys? He knew I lived there too_. At least his confusion and fear had convinced the Dursleys that he truly wasn’t the one who did it. 

The doctor told the Dursleys that the man was thought to be a psychotic cannibal to some, and a demon to others, but no one really knew the real story. The ones who heard of him call him “Eyeless Jack” based on the lore of how he possibly came to be, though she did not know the story, herself. 

_Eyeless Jack_ , Harry thought. _At least now I know his name_. 

The doctor asked how Harry could have possibly avoided an encounter with Eyeless Jack. The Dursleys half-lied and said that they weren’t sure, the only difference was that he had a bedroom downstairs, while they all had rooms upstairs. The doctor merely smiled at Harry and said that he was lucky he slept downstairs, because Jack must have come through an upstairs window, and figured the only occupants were the ones upstairs. 

Only Harry would know that the doctor’s conclusion wasn’t true. 

xX 

Before returning home from the hospital, Vernon stopped and bought locks for every single window and door for their house. Every door except for the door to Harry’s cupboard. In fact, Vernon stated that they would start leaving his door open and unlocked “as a distraction.” 

“Maybe if he sees you he’ll leave us alone,” Vernon said with a cruel smile the first night he did. 

Though nothing happened that first night; nor the next several. At least, nothing happened at the house. Harry could have sworn he saw a man in a black hoodie loitering in the shadows both near the primary school and at the park. Harry wondered if Eyeless Jack was angry at not being able to find him that night and was now planning to ambush him as soon as he was alone. 

He made sure to stay as close to other people as possible. 

Meanwhile, Dudley apparently didn’t notice a thing. Ever since he came back to school he was telling anyone who would listen about his “battle scar” from his run in with “The Infamous Eyeless Jack,” and lifting his shirt to show people.

Harry’s Friday continued like this most of the day, at least until Dudley and is gang finally got bored and wanted to “play” with him after school. He had no choice but to run from them, passed all the other students, passed the leaving teachers, out of the building. They chased him down the block and through back alley ways. He was waiting for them to waste enough time that their parents would come looking for them. 

He didn’t get to waste enough time though, he tripped on an unseen object and they were able to catch up to him. They crowded around him and kicked him while he was down. They taunted and laughed at him, telling him how scared he would have been if he had tried to face Eyeless Jack like Dudley had. 

“Yeah,” Harry spat. “I bet he didn’t tell you the part where he started crying as soon as he saw the scar.” 

The bullies jeered at him and called him a liar. Harry sighed, he was used to no one believing him. 

Piers Polkiss, Dudley’s second in command, pulled out a box cutter razor and proclaimed, in a mocking voice, that Harry was feeling left out. Since the rest of his family had matching scars, it was only fair for Harry to have one too, but since Eyeless Jack couldn’t, they would have to instead. 

Harry had a look of pure horror, wondering where Piers could have possibly gotten that, but at the same time didn’t want to know; that kid was twisted. 

“Get away from me!” Harry yelled, backing into a wall. 

The bullies all grinned and pinned his arms and legs down, while Piers and Dudley came closer with the razor.  
“No, Dudley please don’t do this-”

xX

Eyeless Jack had been contemplating whether to return to the Dursley house and harvest more organs, or just leave them be. In recent years he only took the kidneys, as that was normally what he craved, then left his victims alone… most of the time, anyway. 

But the Dursley family just disgusted him (oh the irony) with their actions and personalities. The cruel way they treated their nephew – whom he finally found out was named Harry Potter, from a teacher calling attendance – just made his mind flash back to the horrors done to _him_. The Dursleys were no cult, but they had the cruelty of the cult members; doing horrible things to an innocent with a smile, seeing nothing wrong with what they were doing. 

He also just didn’t like them in general. The aunt was two-faced and loved to both discuss and start gossip for her entertainment, no matter who she hurt. She always made up excuses to screech at Harry, and even tried to hit him with a frying pan one morning! The uncle had a bad temper, constantly lied, cheated, and never liked to take any blame, always pinning it on others. Vernon was also more physically abusive to Harry, than his wife. The cousin was a spoiled brat, a bully, and seemed to have the worst of his parents’ traits all rolled into one. He also was the one that physically hurt Harry the most. 

Eyeless Jack had seen the “game” Dudley and his little gang of bullies “played” with Harry before, where they chased him all throughout the neighborhood, eventually cornered him, and beat him up. They were horrible for children who should only be in like first grade right now. 

Eyeless Jack was witnessing a game of “Harry Hunting” that Friday. He was easily able to keep up with the group, and watched as they cornered Harry against an alley wall. 

This time was different though, they weren’t just going to use their fists and feet. This time, the little rat-faced boy held up a box cutter as the others held the smaller boy down. Eyeless stood in the shadows and watched Dudley as he grinned at Harry’s terrified look. 

_Oh yeah, I’m going back there_ , he decided. If only give the Dursley brat the same scared, horrified feeling that Harry had right now. 

He sighed to himself and wondered when his human side started making him soft. 

“No, Dudley please don’t do this!”

That phrase made Eyeless Jack’s blood run cold. For him everything stopped, time stood still, and he was dragged back into his memories, to that night in the woods where he lost his humanity. 

He couldn’t see or hear the scene going on in the real world. All he could see was Jenny smiling as she held up a spoon that she would use to gouge out his eyes. All he could hear was her giggle, and cheerful voice say “All hail lord chernobog” as she plunged the spoon into his eye sockets and dug around, prying out his eyes and tearing his eyelids beyond repair. 

He had begged similar words to her, “No! Jenny no! Please, please don’t do this!” he had cried. But she still did it. She did it with a smile on her face. She did it thinking that it was perfectly okay.

…They were doing to Harry what she, and the rest of those crazy bastards, did to him. Hurting an innocent for their own gains, hurting someone with smiles on their faces, hurting someone and thinking it was fine for them to do so.

He clenched his fists and emerged from the shadows, too enraged by painful memories to think clearly. 

xX  
By the time Eyeless Jack had stepped away from the shadows and towards the group, the box cutter had already carved a large gash into Harry’s skin. Harry grit his teeth and tried not to think about the pain.  
He was gazing beyond the bullies, trying to focus on something else. Because of that, he was the first to see Jack approach. He froze under the hands that pinned him down, his breathing sped up, and his voice caught in his throat. One of the bullies noticed his lack of struggling and wide eyed expression, and turned around to see what caused it. 

As his eyes fell upon the masked man who was stalking closer, and closer, a horrified scream tore through his throat and alerted the others. 

The entire group looked up, Piers dropped the razor, and they all screamed and jumped up in panic, some trampling over each other, trying to run out of the alley. Dudley started sobbing that Eyeless Jack came back for his organs as he ran stumbling behind his friends. 

Only Harry was left on the cold, dirty ground, half trampled on and bleeding. He didn’t have enough energy to pick up the box cutter, left forgotten next to him, to try to defend himself.  
The eyeless man loomed over him. Harry’s heart was beating out of his chest as he prayed it would end quickly. His green eyes watched as Eyeless Jack knelt down and grasped the box cutter in his hand. The heavy suspense trapped the air in his lungs. Eyeless just crouched there, staring at him. Harry stared back. 

Suddenly Eyeless Jack stood back up. Harry’s jaw dropped as he watched him turn around and exit the alley. He laid there for a while in shock, never looking away from the direction that Eyeless Jack went. 

X

When Harry returned home he found his relatives huddled together on the sofa with two police officers sitting across from them.

“Oh. There you are, bo- um, Harry,” Vernon said upon noticing him in the doorway. “Dudley told us you were with them when that thing came back for him.” 

Harry only gave a slight nod of confirmation. 

“We weren’t sure what happened to you,” Vernon trailed off. 

_Probably hoped he got me, thought Harry_.

“Son,” one of the officers addressed him. “Why is your side bleeding?” 

In response, Harry lifted his shirt to display the large gash on his side. The officers gasped. 

“Did he…?” The other officer asked. 

“No,” Harry said. “I heard voices, I think people were coming our way. I guess he heard them too because he ran. I got up and ran too, after he left.” 

He didn’t want Vernon to know that Eyeless Jack apparently didn’t want his organs, or else they’d stop leaving his cupboard door open, and he enjoyed his nightly freedom too much for that to stop. Besides, they would just call him a liar if he said who really cut him. 

The officers took him to the hospital to get stitches and finish questioning him. 

xX

That night Dudley slept in bed with his parents, their bedroom locked. _And probably barricaded_ , Harry thought with a grin. 

Harry’s cupboard door was once again left open, and he was taking advantage of it; currently pouring himself a drink in the kitchen. He loved being up when the Dursleys weren’t and they didn’t expect him to do any chores. Plus, they couldn’t catch him drinking milk instead of water. 

Carrying his glass out of the kitchen, he decided to sneak a book out of Dudley’s second bedroom and read for a while, not wanting to sleep yet. He tiptoed up the stairs, avoiding the steps he knew would creak, and made his way up to the bedroom door, unhinging the lock as quietly as possible, he swiftly opened the door to avoid a squeaking sound.

He entered and skimmed through the pile of unwanted books before choosing a random one that had a crazy looking old lady with a fly in her mouth, on the cover. 

As he walked out of the room with the book under his arm, he saw movement in the corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw Eyeless Jack, carrying a sack over his shoulder, and walking out of Dudley’s room towards his aunt and uncle’s bedroom. Eyeless turned and looked over at Harry. The two just stared at each other for a minute before Jack brought a finger to his unseen lips and whispered “shhhh,” before picking the lock and entering the bedroom, gently closing and locking the door behind him. 

Harry knew that what Eyeless Jack was about to do wasn’t good, and he should go call the police before the masked man could do anything. However, he knew that what his relatives always did to him wasn’t good either, and no one ever called the police for him. And after hearing his aunt and uncle rant that day about how they wished “that cannibal freak” would have just eaten Harry and left the rest of their normal family alone, and how much easier it would be for them if he was dead so he could no longer be a burden to them… Well, Harry figured if that was how they felt about him, he should feel the same way about them. 

_Besides, they call both of us freaks_ , Harry thought to himself as he walked down the stairs, deciding to call the police in the morning if the Dursleys didn’t come downstairs, _and freaks should stick together_. 

xX

The next morning Harry woke up early, which was normal for him, and called the police after seeing that his aunt hadn’t come down. The Dursleys were taken to the hospital – several vital organs were missing from each of them, but they would live. 

Meanwhile, the possibly abusive situation of Harry Potter was being investigated after discovering the “real” reason Harry seemed to be able to avoid Eyeless Jack was because they made him sleep in a cupboard under the stairs. He told them that luckily he had been able to call the police because his uncle hadn't been locking him inside recently, hoping that the unlocked door would make it easier for Eyeless Jack to find Harry instead of them. 

Harry gave them no mercy, talking about every single horrible thing they had done to him, and even bursting into tears, then apologizing since it all just “spilled out.” By the end of the week, Petunia and Vernon would be under arrest, and Dudley’s situation examined. They spoke to Vernon’s sister, “aunt Marge,” who not only refused to take Harry in, but also winded up putting herself under investigation because of the hurtful things she had to say against a seven year old (she initially believed that they were investigating because _Harry_ had done something bad, not Vernon and Petunia). 

Harry was sent to an orphanage, but he was okay with this, the officers made sure it was one of the nicer ones. Funny enough, Harry still saw Eyeless Jack from time to time. Harry wondered if perhaps the man grew as fond of Harry, as Harry had of him. 

For the next month, Harry was happy. But the happiness didn’t last. 

One morning a grim looking officer, whom Harry recognized as one of the ones who worked on his abuse case, came to the orphanage and told Harry that the Dursleys had mysteriously been cleared of all charges. Harry paled, knowing that his uncle really would kill him as soon as he saw him. The officer told him that tomorrow morning he would be escorted back to the Dursleys, who had magically already found donors for their missing kidneys, and were back home. 

The rest of the day passed in a blur for Harry as he went about his day numbly. That night, he finally broke down on his bed and cried at the unfairness of it all. 

Around midnight he heard a noise at his window, he looked up to see Eyeless Jack open it from the outside and climb in. 

“Hi Jack,” Harry whispered. 

Eyeless Jack paused at Harry’s tear-stained face, and tilted his head questioningly. Harry wiped his eyes with his sleeve and looked down. 

“Somehow... Somehow the abuse charges were dropped,” Harry gulped, his mouth dry. “I’m being brought back tomorrow morning.”

Jack’s eye sockets widened in surprise behind the mask. 

“How?” His soft voice rumbled from disuse. 

Harry almost smiled. He learned that Eyeless Jack didn’t talk much, and did a lot to avoid it, so Harry always felt special when Jack actually spoke to him. It put him in a slightly better mood. 

“I don’t know,” Harry told him. “What I do know is that they’ll murder me as soon as they see me. They may have been cleared of all charges, but I still ruined their reputation. …You can have my organs when they do,” he tried to joke. 

Eyeless growled, meaning he did not find it funny. 

“Sorry,” Harry sighed. 

They sat in silence for a few hours, each deep in their own thoughts. Finally, Jack stood up, but instead of leaving he walked over to Harry and put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. Harry looked up at him.  
“Come,” was all that Jack to him, and jerked his head towards the open window. 

Harry first looked confused, then stunned for a moment, before he grinned jumped up and grabbed his small backpack full of belongings, and followed Eyeless Jack to the window. 

xX  
In the morning no one could find Harry. His things were missing and his window was wide open. 

Some thought he ran away and escaped through the window; others doubted this because his room was on the second floor and there wasn’t a stable way to get down. Others thought, based on the scratches on the window sill that resembled claw marks, that Eyeless Jack finally tracked Harry down and ate him whole. But if that was the case, some argued, than why were his things missing. 

No one but those who could think up the most bizarre conspiracy theories, could imagine what truly happened. 

Albus Dumbledore, the one who removed the charges against the Dursleys in order for Harry to go back and live with them, all in the name of the greater good, could not fathom the truth either. 

Nor could he locate Harry (or Eyeless Jack if he knew to try). They were always traveling, never having a permanent home, which made their movements hard to track. Plus, though none of them actually knew this, because Eyeless Jack sometimes associates with The Operator (more commonly known as Slender Man) he picks up a small amount of sigma radiation from him that is strong enough to act as a sort of ward to block any tracking spells, but weak enough that it doesn’t cause Harry to have symptoms of “the sickness.”

This meant that Dumbledore would have to wait until Harry turned up at Hogwarts, to keep him safe from Voldemort and his followers.


	2. Bonus Chapters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonus Scenes:   
> A Day in the Life of  
> The Harvester & His Helper  
> Why They Call Me a Freak  
> Slender Mansion  
> Diagon Alley Dealings  
> Platform 9 & 3/4  
> None of Your Business Old Man

Scene 1: A Day in the Life of

The early morning sun bounced through the kitchen window of an old, run down house; acting as the house’s only lighting. Seated at the dusty table in the decrepit home were two people who knew to take advantage of the free light for as long as possible. 

Harry Potter, several months after running away, was sitting at the table peering down at a piece of paper, a pencil twitching in his hand, and his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth in concentration.

Peering over his shoulder, with a finger on the paper, was the man known as Eyeless Jack to the majority, but merely “Jack” to Harry. 

“Sooo, when adding twelve and fifteen, you set them up like this?” Harry asked as he rewrote the numbers vertically. “Then you add the two and five… Seven,” he wrote it underneath. “And one plus one is two. So, twelve plus fifteen is twenty seven?” 

Harry asked, looking behind him at Jack for confirmation. 

Jack nodded, his face held a small smile; his mask off for the moment. 

Harry grinned at him, “Yes, I did it! How are you so smart, Jack?” 

Jack pointed to himself and said softly “Robotics major,” then pointed to the book he was holding titled _Second Grade Mathematics: Teacher’s Addition_ , “Compared to… easy.” 

Eyeless Jack still didn’t speak much, but spoke more than he ever had after becoming a partial demon. Harry never complained about Jack’s limited speech, though he was happy when the man did start to talk more, even if only slightly. 

“Not like that,” Harry shook his head and smiled. “You are smart in how you explain things. My old teacher, Ms Crabberry, never explained maths like you. She used to snap at me and accuse me of mucking around when I told her I didn’t understand.” Harry frowned and looked down, “She used to believe Dudley over me too, I think ‘cause aunt Petunia was friends with her.” 

Eyeless Jack put a finger under Harry’s chin and lifted Harry’s head back up, so the boy was looking him in the face. “Doesn’t mean…” He pointed at Harry, “not smart,” his voice rasped. 

Harry gave him a small smile, and turned back to his work. He was still a little sensitive about his experiences from living with the Dursleys, but Jack encouraged him as much as he was able. Little instances like this made Harry reevaluate himself: Jack told him he was smart, regardless of what his old teacher thought, so Harry decided to try his best and not hold back anymore just because others thought he wasn’t smart.

They worked on math for another half an hour before breaking for food. Although Jack didn’t need human food, he still sometimes had to steal money from his victims’ houses for water, clothing (when his became too blood-stained and unusable), ice for his organ cooler, and other random essentials. With Harry, he had to start taking more, but at least it was easier to buy things by having Harry walk into a store during normal hours, instead of Jack going at two in the morning with sunglasses and his hood over his face. 

They both sat at the table where Harry munched on an apple, and Jack bit into a leftover organ he had kept on ice. …It was an odd but familiar scene. 

During the day Jack would do his best to teach Harry things that he would normally be learning in school – math, basic science, reading, and writing. History was something he wasn’t great at teaching, instead, they would buy or shoplift (depending on how much money they had) books about stories from certain historical eras. 

During the night, Harry would accompany him on his hunts (if he had any)… And running away from the house after a harvest took care of his physical education. 

Jack’s heavy sleeper victims allowed Harry the chance to observe up close how to make an incision and cut out an organ with minimal damage. Not to mention, a good deal about human biology from hands on experience. 

“Relocating tonight,” Jack said after he finished. 

“Okay,” Harry nodded. “I’ll pack my bag as soon as the sun starts to set. How far are we going?” 

“Bus,” Jack replied. Meaning pretty far, but not too bad. 

“Walking” would have meant they were moving into another building in the same town, “Bus” meant they were moving a couple of towns over, and “Car” would have meant that they were going so far that they would have to steal a car and drive all night to get there. 

“I hope the next place we go to still has running water,” Harry commented neutrally as he put his math sheet away. “I could use a shower.” 

X

After studying with Jack, for the rest of the day Harry scavenged the rooms of the old house that he hadn’t been in yet, for anything useful or interesting. It was one of his favorite things to do, and something he had done at the Dursleys while cleaning. But there he had usually just taken small toys and books that Dudley neglected. With Jack, he tried to look for useful items like blankets, towels, or tools; he was allowed to keep anything non-useful that he like though, as long as he could carry it. 

After doing that, Harry would either explore the surrounding area (if where they were staying was far enough away from civilization), read, spend time with Jack and assist the man when needed, or play with the small toys he had. 

That night, just before the sun completely set, Harry had his bag packed, and Eyeless Jack carried his cooler and own bag. They left the decaying house without a goodbye and set off towards the nearest bus stop.   
Jack wore his hoodie and a pair of large, dark sunglasses. Harry would chatter to him happily, a hand tugging on his sleeve to give the impression that the boy was leading him. He would say things like “this way, big brother,” and “we’re almost there, just a few more minutes,” to keep the nosy people satisfied. 

X

Getting off the bus, they walked to their destination – a house four more blocks away that was in foreclosure; its previous occupants seemingly left one day. Jack would have to pick the lock. Harry didn’t know where Jack found these places, but as soon as they stepped inside and saw that the place still contained furniture and other luxuries, Harry didn’t care. 

He walked over to one of the couches and fell face-first into the cushions, proclaiming he was too tired to go find a room. Eyeless shook his head, but took the other couch, deciding to sleep there tonight as well. Tomorrow they would find a victim for him, and get some food for Harry. 

Scene 1&¼ (Extra): The Harvester and His Helper

Discreetly entering places without others’ knowledge was something Eyeless Jack had been practicing for years, and was something he was teaching Harry.

Eyeless Jack gripped the tile of the house, sinking his claw-like nails in as far as they would go, and hoisted himself up. Whatever it was Jack had become, he had an inhuman grip, and could easily blend into the shadows. Harry could not… So he held onto Jack as the man climbed the side of the house, up to the bedroom window. 

Locked. Annoying, but not much of a problem. Unlocking it would just take a bit of nail maneuvering. A subtle “click” meant he was successful. 

He opened the window and crept inside. 

Their victim was a medium sleeper, so as soon as they were in Jack blended into the shadows, waiting to see if the man woke either from the sound of the window opening or from their presence in the room.   
After a few minutes, he did awaken, but only to daze drowsily at the open window. Furrowing his brow, he sat up and walked over to it, muttering “I thought I closed this.” He looked outside but didn’t see anyone, so he shrugged, shut it, and returned to bed. 

The boys made sure the man was definitely asleep again – snoring and drooling told them so – before coming out of hiding. Harry watched as Eyeless slowly and carefully moved the material out of the way, and in one quick cut, sliced open the area where one of the kidneys was. This was a quick case, the man was neither hated nor liked by Eyeless Jack, so a single kidney was all they were taking. 

Harry watched in fascination as it was gently cut out, the man only stirring minimally. Harry held open a plastic bag for Jack to put the organ in. 

They were finished.

As they were a bit low on money, they made their way downstairs and searched the man’s house for money and maybe food for Harry; nothing too obvious though, at least nothing more obvious than a missing kidney.

After that, they ran off into the night, determined to get to their temporary home before the sun came up. 

xXx

Scene 2: Why They Called Me a Freak

It started out as a normal day: the boys had just gotten back from a night of harvesting – this one taking a lot longer than normal since this was one of the rare humans that Eyeless Jack disliked severely enough (on a similar level to Harry’s relatives) to cut out most of their organs – and began to store and ice everything as soon as they got back. Harry was helping Jack, as he had done so before, and was carrying a jar that held a bloody pancreas inside, when he tripped and the jar went flying. Panicking, Harry thrust out a hand and yelled “no” hoping with all his might that the jar wouldn’t break. 

It didn’t. 

Instead, it suspended in midair. 

Both Harry and Jack just stood there staring at the hovering jar. Finally, after several minutes of disbelief, Jack walked over to the jar, gently plucked it out of the air, and turned to Harry. 

The boy was looking down, his hands clenched at his sides, and eyes tightly shut.

“You’re ashamed of me now, aren’t you?” Harry whispered. 

“No,” the eyeless man said in his throaty voice. He walked up to Harry and raised the child’s head up to look at him. Jack tilted his head in question. 

“Why not,” Harry asked, sweeping the back of his hand across his eyes. “This is why my r-relatives hated me. I used to do freaky stuff like this… This is why they called me a freak.” His eyes teared up slightly and he looked back down towards the floor. 

Jack sighed, and knelt in front of Harry. This time he held up a finger and poked Harry on the forehead, making the boy lift his head back up at him. 

Eyeless Jack made a comparing gesture between himself and Harry, then pointed to himself and said “freakier.” He pointed to Harry and said “interesting,” before pointing to himself and said “terrifying.” 

Harry shook his head, “not to me.” 

Jack paused for a moment, then pointed back to Harry and said “same.” 

Harry took a breath and wore a watery smile. He didn’t mind thinking of himself as freaky, as long as he had another “freak” to be his friend. 

Jack “looked” him in the eyes. “Should practice,” he told Harry. 

Harry considered this. _Jack practices what makes him freaky… So why shouldn’t I_ , Harry thought. _The Dursleys can’t hurt me anymore_. 

“Okay, I will,” Harry said. 

X

A few days after what was dubbed “The Jar Incident,” Harry was sitting in his temporary room of the abandoned house they were staying in, trying to levitate random objects that had been left to rot. 

He had his hand thrust out, hovering over an old, broken doll. “Up!” He yelled at the toy. “Levitate… Ascend! Come on, move,” he growled. 

Temper rising, he clenched his fist as if grabbing the doll, and forcefully threw his hand upwards with a frustrated grunt. Only then did the doll actually move, but too forcefully: it whipped through the air and smashed onto the ceiling with a loud bang and crack. The doll’s head raining down in tiny pieces. 

Harry closed his eyes and ducked away from the shards and body as they fell to the floor. 

“Opps,” Harry muttered. 

A soft grunt sounded from the doorway. Harry turned and saw Jack standing there, the door wide open. A small smile showed he was slightly amused. 

Harry laughed sheepishly. 

“Hey, Jack. Sorry, was I being too loud?” 

The man shook his head. It was then that Harry noticed he had a short stack of paper with him, covered in his handwriting. 

“What’s that for?” Harry asked him. 

He merely handed the stack to Harry and looked at him expectantly. Harry raised an eyebrow at him but looked at the first paper. Harry could read very well for his age, so he wasn’t concerned about actually reading what Jack had to say, but that Jack apparently had so much to say. 

_Harry_ , he read. 

_I’ve taken some time to think things over since the jar incident,_

Cold fear gripped Harry’s heart, he mentally begged God, the Universe, whoever would listen, that Jack was not reconsidering thinking he wasn’t a freak. 

_And I think to be fair, since you showed me why the Dursleys hated you (and because it’s easy to see you’ve been restraining yourself for months not to ask), I’m going to tell you about how I came to be… whatever it is I am._

Harry paused, mouth wide open in shock. He looked up at his friend. “You’re really going to tell me,” he whispered excitedly. 

Jack nodded, and motioned for him to continue. 

_Obviously, since telling long stories is an issue for me, I’m going to write down what happened. Okay, here goes: My name was originally Jack Nichols and I was attending college, dorming with my friend Greg-_  
Harry read through the pages, his eyes greedily soaking up the story he had been wanting to know since meeting the eyeless man. Jack stood there the entire time in case he needed help sounding out a word, or understanding something. 

When he was done reading he looked up at Jack sadly, but not pitifully. He walked over to the man and grabbed his hand, squeezing it; he saw someone do this to comfort someone, once. 

“Thank you for telling me,” Harry whispered. 

xXx

Scene 3: Slender Mansion

It had actually been Harry who had found the piece of paper with The Operator’s symbol on it, sitting innocently on the counter one morning. He curiously presented it to Jack, who only sighed with annoyance at the sight of it. 

Without a word he walked outside and into the rural area surrounding the cabin they were staying in, with Harry following. After walking for a while, eerie fog began creeping in around them; the longer they walked, the foggier it became. 

Harry was just starting to become concerned he may lose sight of Jack in the thick fog, when it suddenly vanished. Harry looked around and noticed they were in a small clearing – a circular area absent of fog, with a large tree in the middle. 

Eyeless Jack walked up to the tree and stuck his hand inside a hollow opening. He pulled out an envelope that also had the Operator symbol. He tore it open, took out its contents and read. 

He and Harry walked back through the fog in silence. 

It wasn’t until they were back at the cabin that Jack “explained” the letters. 

“Meeting,” he said as he handed Harry the letter with the date and time it would take place; three months from that day. 

“Is this normal?” Harry asked. He knew that Jack met up with The Operator sometimes, but he didn’t know they did it through formal meetings. 

Jack nodded. 

Harry snorted, “That’s pretty weird.” 

A shrug was his only response. 

xX

They were apparently going to the mansion the same way they went to get the letter, but this time by walking passed the giant tree, deeper into the fog. It was the middle of the night too, so Harry tightly gripped the sleeve of Jack’s hoodie, determined not to lose him. 

They walked for what felt like hours to Harry, and the young boy was starting to tire and walk slower. Jack was apparently fine as he kept up the same pace as when they started, but picked Harry up carried him the rest of the way. 

Eventually, an impossibly large, white mansion emerged from the fog. The moonlight cast it in a sinister glow, making it appear more frightening than any man-made horror attraction. Eyeless Jack walked up to the door with no hesitation.

“On guard,” he whispered to Harry before moving to open the door. 

Harry nodded. Eyeless meant “be on guard,” and had told Harry before they left to be cautious around the others, especially Jeff. The boy knew he was about to face a group of killers, but he comforted himself with the knowledge that he had Jack, and his powers to back him up. 

They entered. 

Jack still carried Harry on his hip as he walked down a long, red carpeted hallway. The meeting room door was closed at the end; they had purposely come late, hoping to avoid the others on the way. 

The walk to the door was tense. 

Jack hesitated a moment before steeling himself and turning the handle. The two made sure to look determined as the door swung open and revealed their presence. 

The first thing that greeted them were the curious and shocked faces of the other meeting-goers. Even the Operator managed to look confused without a face - something Harry would later find hilarious. 

“Eyeless Jack, why-” the faceless man began, but was interrupted by a sudden knife piercing the air and coming straight at Harry. 

Jack was prepared to sidestep out of the way but Harry instantly reacted the second he saw movement, and formed a dome-shield around them. The knife hit the shield with an audible “ping” and fell to the floor. 

The Operator turned around and glared at the culprit, “Jeff!” He scolded. The killer reluctantly put down the other knives he had.

“Getting better,” Jack said softly to Harry. Since the entire room was even more silent now, everyone heard it. This surprised most of them, already knowing that Eyeless Jack would prefer to say as little as possible to anyone.

Slenderman turned back to the two in the doorway. “Please explain,” he asked patiently. 

Eyeless reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled out a pre-written explanation of what happened over a year ago when he had found Harry, why he had taken him in, and a threat to anyone that tried to harm the boy, that Jack will not hesitate to retaliate. 

It was read aloud. 

“Very well,” the Operator said. “The responsibility is your choice. We will discuss this more after the regular meeting.” 

Jack nodded and sat down in a chair, Harry sitting down closely next to him. The others all forced themselves to calm and continue the meeting. 

xX

The meetings never lasted long, tending to run for only about an hour or so. After the meeting was when people mingled. Eyeless Jack was always a loner and preferred to leave as soon as possible, but with Harry he couldn’t this time. He had too many questions to answer. 

“I can’t believe you took in a human!” 

“Human? What are you talking about? Were you _blind_ when that shield thing came up?” 

“What was that anyway? It was really cool.” 

“I think it’s cute that you found a little friend.” 

“ _Cute_?” 

“Yeah! I mean, he’s always by himself… No offense Jack.” 

“Sigh. I’m surrounded by weirdos.” 

Or perhaps listen to their questions was more accurate. Neither he, nor Harry, had a chance to actually answer them because they were being asked all at once. 

“Excuse me?” A little voice peeped from behind the crowd. 

A young girl with dark brown hair and bright green eyes stepped into view. She looked at Harry shyly. 

“I was wondering if you wanted to play with me,” she asked him. 

Slenderman intervened before Harry could respond. “ _Normal_ playing, right Sally?” 

“Yup,” she confirmed. “So…?” She looked Harry in the eyes. 

“Sure,” he smiled. “What do you want to play?” 

She squealed and grabbed his hand, dragging him off. Harry threw an apologetic look over his shoulder at poor Jack, left alone with the crowd. 

_Well at least he has the Operator_ , Harry thought. 

xX

As Harry was dragged off by the little spirit, Eyeless Jack spotted Jeff and Laughing Jack trying to sneak off after them, no doubt disregarding his threat. 

Jack strode over to the two and gripped their shoulders in anger. He growled “ _Stay_ ,” in the most demonic voice any of them have ever heard Eyeless use.

Nobody moved. 

The Operator cleared his throat. “I agree. Jeff, Laughing Jack, stay in sight of us.” 

“You act like you don’t trust us,” the clown said innocently. 

“Anyone with half a brain wouldn’t trust you guys,” Ben Drowned scoffed. 

The Slenderman turned to the false Link, “Would you mind keeping an eye on the children until we’re done here?” 

“I guess,” Ben shrugged, and left. 

“Now,” the Operator said to Eyeless Jack. “There’s something I want to talk to you about.” 

Jack motioned for him to continue. 

“Harry’s abilities. He’s always had them, correct?” 

Jack nodded. 

“And he can do more than just shields?” 

Another nod. 

“I recognize this type of energy, I even possess something similar to it. There are humans who also naturally wield this type of energy, but they call it ‘magic’.” 

Eyeless looked surprised. 

Slenderman chuckled, “Yes, and they refer to themselves as witches and wizards, and have their own secret societies. I’ve been around and can locate the barriers into their world easily, and can show you where they are. I recommend you two infiltrate it and learn as much as you can. It could help him one day.” 

Jack put a hand to his head, thinking over what he’d just been told. Now on top of regular education, Harry was going to learn this “magic education” or whatever it was called… _How is he supposed to learn all of this?_

A white, boney hand rested on Jack’s shoulder. He looked up at the inhumanly tall being. “It will be alright,” he said, like he had known what Jack was thinking. “Look at this as an opportunity, not a hindrance.” 

xX

After recalling some entrances into wizarding societies and writing down their locations, the Operator dismissed Jeff and Laughing Jack from their sight, and went with Eyeless Jack to find Harry. 

Later, Jack would recall that the sight of Harry and Sally spinning double-dutch ropes for an annoyed, but participating, Ben Drowned made the whole tiring experience worth it. 

As they were leaving, Sally begged Jack to let Harry visit her again. 

X  
Over the course of several months and plenty of visits, the killers who lived at the mansion or visited it frequently, warmed up to the little wizard. Sally, and even Ben Drowned and Ticci Toby, could be considered Harry’s friends, especially after Harry participated in their prank wars against Jeff. 

As for Jeff, well, he stopped trying to kill Harry after Eyeless Jack retaliated for his third attempt on Harry’s life; just what was done to him that was so unspeakable, he won’t say, but at least it got the message across. 

xXx

Scene 3&¾ (Extra): Diagon Alley Dealings

Along with the list of locations of entries into the wizarding world, the Operator also wrote down a few tips and suggestions to help them stay under the radar. One of those suggestions was, after going to the bank and exchanging currency, to quickly enter a store and buy some plain black robes and cloaks so that they didn’t stick out with their “muggle” clothing. 

The entrance they choose was located in a magical pub and inn back in Britain, and the closest to where Harry was from. They were starting at his “roots,” so to speak. Then they would expand to other wizarding communities, once more comfortable. 

They entered The Leaky Cauldron, both dressed in black hoodies and dark pants, loitering in the shadows. They waited for someone to open the entrance. 

“’Ello Tom,” a booming voice greeted the man behind the bar. It was the voice of a very, very large man, with a beard so thick he could probably hide things in it. 

“Afternoon Hagrid,” Tom said back. “The usual?” 

“Na’ at the moment,” Hagrid replied. “Have ta run an erran’ for Professor Snape, on ma way to the apothecary right now.” 

They bid each other a brief farewell, and Hagrid moved towards the back of the building. Harry and Jack followed. 

They saw the giant man tap the bricks in a peculiar way, and moved in closer to him as the bricks parted and the entrance way appeared. They slipped in with him, inconspicuously. 

They broke away from Hagrid as soon as they entered, but couldn’t help stopping to stare at the completely different world they just entered. A sign close by read “Diagon Alley.”

Jack was the first to snap out of it. He nudged Harry, breaking him free of his trance. Without having to say anything, they both nonchalantly walked among the crowd, listening to the conversations going on, while scanning the shops looking for the bank. 

“How dare that wench try to heckle me out of-”

“They call _this_ fresh?” 

“Why Meredith, those new robes are gorgeous!” 

“I’m rooting for Scotland, they have that new Keeper-” 

“Oh, you just wouldn’t believe the good news my little Percy wrote to me about-”

“Don’t forget to owl me tomorrow with the results. I want to-”

“Yes, we were just about to head to Gringotts, need to take out a few galleons for a new set of robes. Can’t have him looking like a ruffian in last season’s, now can I?” 

Jack stopped, so Harry did as well. The eyeless man indicated to an older gentleman with a handlebar mustache, who was gesturing to his teenage son, while talking to a long, blond haired man with a younger son around Harry’s age. 

“Quite,” the blond deadpanned. 

The other man didn’t seem to notice his _friend’s_ disinterest. “Well, we best be off. Good day to you, Mr. Malfoy.” 

The man, now dubbed “Mr. Malfoy,” only nodded to him, and dragged his son in the opposite direction.

They followed the mustached man and his son, unnoticed. After walking for a while, the two entered a large, white marble building – presumably the bank they were looking for. 

Jack and Harry calmly walked up the matching stairs, passed the Goblin guarding the doors, and into a small entrance hall. They had no desire to rob the bank, so they barely acknowledged the warning poem engraved on the silver doors, and walked in. 

Not entirely sure of where to go, Jack surveyed the goblin tellers and their lines. Since there didn’t seem to be any signs to differentiate between them, he simply stepped onto the shortest one. Harry stood directly next to Jack, as he would have to do the talking. 

“Next,” the goblin teller barked.

They stepped up. 

“What can Gringotts help you with, today” the goblin sneered. 

The gobin had been looking at Jack when he spoke, but looked down at Harry when the boy cleared his throat and took a step closer. 

“We’re just here to exchange some ‘muggle’ money, for wizarding currency,” he said. Slenderman wrote down that the term for something non-magical was called “muggle.” He hoped he was pronouncing it right.   
Jack took the money out of his hoodie and sat it on the desk, still not saying a word. The goblin looked at them curiously, but didn’t ask. He quickly counted the one hundred pounds, and turned around calling for “Shardok,” to bring him twenty galleons and two knuts.

“Thank you, sir,” Harry said politely. “But can you do us a favor and explain the exchange rate? We’re new to this… society.” 

The goblin sighed in annoyance but quickly explained that there were twenty nine knuts to a sickle, and seventeen sickles to a galleon. 

Harry thanked him, while Jack nodded to him, and they exited the bank.

X

As soon as they left Gringotts, they located the nearest shop that sold clothing – a small but well-kept shop with premade robes and cloaks of various sizes, called _Tailored by Taylor_ – and bought plain black robes and cloaks. They placed their hoodies in the bags they were given and donned their new wizarding wear, making sure to have their hoods up. 

xXx

They scoped out the other businesses and the locals, trying to gather as much information on the streets as they could; which wasn’t much. The Operator told them more than they gathered in the alley. 

Harry persuaded Jack to look in the book store with him, saying they could probably find books about the magic users’ history and culture, like they would find in any normal book store. 

Walking in, the place wasn’t too crowded, but there were enough people shopping for them to remain unnoticed. They followed the signs towards the History and Culture sections. They ended up choosing “The Greatest Moments in Wizarding History” by Patrick Burnam, “The Muggleborn’s Guide to Pureblood Politics” by Amanda Schweets, and “The Ways of the Wizard: Fitting into Your New Society” by Christian Bayes.

They browsed around a bit more, hoping to find anything else useful, when Jack spotted a tell shelf with an unsettling section name. He tapped Harry’s shoulder and pointed. 

The section was called “Harry Potter,” much like how the other sections were called “History” or “Cooking.” Walking up to the shelf, the two found it bizarre. Many of the books had images of a boy with similar features to Harry – some illustrations, some photos with small print saying “magically produced rendition of what Harry Potter may look like.” But others had _actual_ photos taken of him before he left the Dursleys. None of the real pictures looked like they were taken after Harry left with Eyeless Jack though, at least. 

Harry picked up the most non-fiction looking one, entitled “Harry Potter: A Look Passed the Title.” by Marvin Encombe, and skimmed through its summary. 

_This is a study of the circumstances surrounding the famous Boy-Who-Lived, otherwise known as Harry Potter. Harry Potter is the only known survivor of the killing curse and vanquisher of He-who-Must-Not-Be-Named. All accomplished at just fifteen months old._

_In section one of this book, we will be reviewing just who little Harry Potter is, the possible reasons why he survived, and which magics could have aided his survival. Section two will be dedicated to debunking the outrageous rumors associated with Harry Potter, especially in “literature” such as “The Adventures of Harry Potter” or “The-Boy-Lived: A Hero’s Tale.”_

_Finally, section three will describe the real situation of Harry Potter, brought to light in late 1987, when the Wizarding World was **finally** alerted to the boy’s missing status by Albus Dumbledore, and the reasons why. We will also delve into what it will mean to the public if Harry Potter does not turn up by September of 1991._

Harry numbly passed it to Jack so he could read it over. He just couldn’t believe it, he was famous. _**He** _ was famous. For so long he was just “the freak,” then he was “the freak who maybe wasn’t so freaky,” because he had someone who was like a brother to him, and even friends. He just couldn’t understand how he was secretly famous through all of that. And if he was so famous, how could they leave him with people who hated him. Or even worse, try to stick him back with them! 

Harry felt Jack gently take his wrist and guide him towards the checkout counter. He stood there quietly by his pseudo-brother’s side as he paid for the books and led him out of the store, and (behind another person) out of the alley. 

Harry was quiet all the way back to their hide out. When they got to their temporary home, Harry barely even remembered to take off the cloak and robe. He grabbed the book on his fame and locked himself in a bedroom to read. 

X

Eyeless didn’t see Harry for a full day after locking himself away. He was just wondering whether he should check on the boy or not, when the bedroom door opened and Harry walked out. There were bags under his eyes, his hair was disheveled, and he looked like he was struggling with what to say. 

Harry walked over to the table and sat down in the vacant seat. He looked at Jack with frustration in his eyes and said “they’re all bloody idiots,” before banging his head onto the table with a sigh.   
Jack sat there not knowing what to think… at least not until Harry explained what he read.

xXx

Scene 4: Platform 9&¾ 

Harry and Jack stood away from the secret entrance to Platform 9&¾, just taking a moment to observe the families going in, and thinking about their decision to send Harry to Hogwarts. 

The letter had come a week before Harry’s eleventh birthday: the invitation to Hogwarts school of Witch Craft and Wizardry. The school whose headmaster was not only the person who originally placed Harry with his hateful relatives, but who also cleared the abuse charges and tried to send him back there – one of the things he learned from Marvin Encombe’s book. 

Neither Harry nor Jack wanted him to be near Dumbledore, but it was the Operator who convinced them to have Harry attend. He thought it was a good way to keep an eye on Dumbledore, and plant false clues as to where Harry really was. And this way, once the wizarding world knew that Harry Potter was alright, they (as a whole) wouldn’t keep looking for him, even if Dumbledore still wanted to.

As a final way to convince them that it would be alright, and something insert a little humor into the situation, the Slenderman reminded them that Harry was well-liked by the others, and if Dumbledore tried to interfere too much, he was sure to be paid a visit by _at the very least_ , Sally. 

Harry laughed at the thought of Dumbledore facing Sally’s wrath, and even Jack chuckled a bit. In all seriousness, they knew that the others would help them if needed. 

That was what it took to convince them. 

They started walking towards the barrier. Harry had a cart full of luggage and a cage with a raven, instead of an owl, which had been a gift from the Operator. They walked through the bricks like they weren’t even there. 

An old-fashioned scarlet train came into the view: The Hogwarts Express. Children of all ages were pulling their trunks on board, families were hugging and having tearful goodbyes, and in the case of a family of red-heads, threats were being given from a mother to her twin sons. 

They felt so out of place. 

No one noticed them though. There was no reason so. 

Jack was dressed in a clean hoodie with the hood up, dark pants, and sunglasses. He looked more like an older teenager or young adult, than a demonic killer and organ-stealer. 

Harry looked different from how people imagined he would, but in a good way. He did wear glasses, but they were elegant and square framed, and didn’t distract from his green eyes. His hair was grown out slightly, enough to pull it back into a low ponytail, while his bangs were long enough to cover his scar and swept across his forehead at an angle.

He didn’t look like a clone of James Potter, so no one gave him a second look.

They loaded Harry’s things into a compartment, and stepped back once they were done. Harry still didn’t get on. He didn’t want to leave yet. They continued wasting time, just observing for a bit. 

But the train was filling up, and they knew that it was now or never. 

Jack turned towards Harry first, and Harry reluctantly turned towards him as well. Jack put a hand on Harry’s shoulder. 

“It’s going to be weird not seeing you every day,” Harry said after a minute. 

“Same,” Jack whispered. 

Harry looked down in sadness. Jack was his friend, practically his brother. It felt like he was losing his family, even if it would only be for several months, and even if he would see him and everyone else for Christmas holidays… Harry sighed. 

“I’ll miss you,” said Jack in his usual low tone. 

Harry looked up in surprise. Not because Jack said he would _miss_ him, but because he _said_ he would miss him. Jack still did most of his “talking” through gestures that Harry learned to pick up on over the years. He didn’t expect Jack to say something like that, especially when he’d already shown it. 

Harry gave a watery smile. 

“I’ll miss you too,” he said. 

Harry paused for a second before walking up to the man and wrapping his arms around him. Harry didn’t hug a lot, so when he did it meant something, something he couldn’t say with words; it was like the opposite of how Jack worked. 

Jack lightly put his arms around the boy as well. They stayed there for moment, before Harry pulled away. 

The whistle of the train blew and Harry knew he had to get on. “See you later, Jack,” Harry said softly before getting on the train. 

He walked around looking for an empty compartment, finally finding one in the back. He looked out the window and saw that Jack was still there. Harry waved at him, and caught his attention just as the train started moving. 

His eyeless brother waved back, as the train disappeared from sight. 

xXx

Scene 5: None of Your Business Old Man

All in all, everything had gone as well as it could have after getting on the train. Aside from the entire student body staring at him more than the other first years while being sorted, or having a too-long discussion with the Sorting Hat about where to go… 

The feast itself was nice for Harry. His house mates seemed alight too, even though they kept asking where he’d been for the last four years. The only thing he gave away was that he was staying with someone he considered a brother, and that he had a few good friends amongst his brother’s… coworkers (was the term he decided to use). 

They also pointed out that his accent kept changing. 

“Where are you even from? Sometimes you sound British, sometimes you don’t.” 

“Yeah, you’re using terms from everywhere! I know, because my parents and I always travel on holiday.” 

So Harry told them that he and his brother constantly travel as part of his “work,” and that he isn’t allowed to talk about it. He wondered if they thought his brother was an unspeakable or something after that. Oh well. 

It seemed that no matter how much he answered, the more questions they had. He had to be vague though, of course. But it wasn’t the students’ questions that made him nervous, no, it was the Headmaster’s eventual questioning. Harry knew it was only a matter of time before the old man would confront him. 

After the feast, as the students were being led to their common rooms, a prefect came up to Harry and told him that Headmaster would like a word with him, and he was to follow the older student up to Dumbledore’s office. 

xXx

The prefect dropped him off outside the open office door, where waiting inside was of course Dumbledore, but also Professor Snape on his right and Professor McGonagall on his left. 

“Good evening, Mr. Potter,” Dumbledore greeted. 

“Good evening, Headmaster,” Harry said back politely. “Surely I’m not in trouble just yet, sir?” He joked. 

“Of course not, my boy,” Dumbledore smiled. “It seems you managed to get to Hogwarts just fine, and with the necessary supplies,” he gave a pointed look to Harry’s school robes before continuing. “Despite not having your aunt to help you.” 

“Yes sir,” Harry simply said. 

“Indeed?” Dumbledore prodded. 

Harry just nodded, not elaborating further. “Besides, my aunt and uncle hated magic, so I doubt she would have helped me, anyway.” 

The Headmaster was about to work with that opening, but Harry changed the subject. “Why do you ask anyway, sir?” Harry said innocently.

Dumbledore sat back and studied the boy. 

“We’ve been searching for you for about four years now, Harry.”

Harry didn’t say anything, he just kept his face neutral. He wasn’t sorry, and he wouldn’t lie and say he was, especially to the man who he knew wanted to keep him in an abusive home. 

“Where have you been all this time, Harry?” Dumbledore asked, seemingly concerned. 

“Why do you need to know?” Harry asked. 

Dumbledore just sighed. McGonagall’s expression remained stern, but turned slightly disappointed. Snape glared at him, “Wherever he has been, it’s fueled his arrogance. He may be even worse than his father.”

Harry raised an eyebrow at the man. “And just _how_ is wanting to know why my Headmaster has such an interest in my home life, considered arrogant? Wouldn’t I be arrogant if I expected him to have an interest in me, because of all that ‘Boy-Who-Lived’ nonsense?” 

Snape was about to retort when Dumbledore cut him off. 

“I wanted you to be raised away from your fame, as to not get a swelled head,” Dumbledore smiled slightly at him. “It appears that, despite knowing, you don’t care for your fame. Tell me, when did you find out?”   
Harry knew that Dumbledore must have believed he found out only recently, and would still be ignorant to many things in the Wizarding World. 

Harry smiled sweetly and said, “I think I was about eight.”

Dumbledore’s eyes widened. “Eight? That’s only a year after you went missing…” 

Harry shrugged nonchalantly, and studied his nails like he was bored. “Well, one day my brother and were taking a walk in London, and I found a Wizarding newspaper, The Daily Prophet I believe, just lying on the pavement. Wizards should really keep better track of their things.” 

Dumbledore looked slightly pale at the idea that their society could be discovered so easily: a young muggleborn child could stumble across a copy the same way, and show it to his muggle family or friends. He made a mental note to bring this up at the next Wizengamot meeting. 

Harry pretended not to notice Dumbledore’s concern. He had to focus on the story the Operator helped them come up with. It was simple yet plausible, and it didn’t help the old man in figuring out where Harry went. If anything, it left a false clue that he lived in or near London. 

“It was talking about ‘The Disappearance of The Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter’ and how I may be being tortured, or dead,” he continued in a mock-dramatic voice.  
Snape growled, “If you knew people were looking for you, why didn’t you turn yourself in!” 

Harry looked at Snape in disbelief, “Turn myself in to the people who illegally cleared the Dursleys of **abuse** charges, _and_ tried to send me back there? Are you seriously suggesting I should have ignored that and turned myself in? That was the reason I left in the first place!” 

He glared right back at the potions professor. Snape didn’t argue anymore though, he was stubborn, not an idiot. 

Harry saw McGonagall’s eyes soften. He knew from Encombe’s book that she was one of the loudest protesters of not having him go back to his relatives if they found him, and he respected her for that. 

Dumbledore cleared his throat, and tried to turn the conversation in another direction.

“So you say you have a ‘brother,’” he began. “Is your brother a muggle?” 

Harry calmed and looked back at the headmaster impassively. “He may, or may not be.” 

It was technically the truth, he didn’t know whether Eyeless Jack would be considered a muggle, or dark creature, by their standards. 

Snape was about to say something else, but McGonagall glared at him. She’d had enough of his outbursts for one evening. 

Harry saw an opening. “It’s getting late, and I’m tired from the trip here. May I go now, Headmaster?” 

“Yes, I apologize, Harry. You may go. I’ll call a house elf to escort you to your dormitory. Mizzy?” Dumbledore called. 

With a pop, a small elf appeared in his office. “Yes headmaster Dumbly-dore, sir?” 

“Could you please show Mr. Potter how to get to his common room?” 

“Yes sir!” The little elf squeaked. “Please follow Mizzy, Harry Potter, sir.” 

“Good night, my boy,” Dumbledore called as the boy left with the elf. 

He turned to his two professors/companions, so they could discuss the minimal amount they just learned, and what they should do about it. 

xX

Harry sat on his bed, the curtains closed, sealing him away from his dorm mates. A muggle pen, as he wanted to avoid using a quill as much as possible, scribbled on a piece of parchment; a hardcover book under it acting as an impromptu desk. 

He was already penning out his first letters to Jack, his friends, and the Operator. In each of them he included his talk with Dumbledore, just worded differently depending on the recipient. 

When he was finished, though late, he knew he’d be struggling to get to sleep; too used to spending late nights with Jack, harvesting. 

He frowned while getting into bed. He had been wondering if his life would become comparatively duller once he started attending Hogwarts, despite his year-round game with Dumbledore. He went back to pondering this as he dozed. 

_Somehow though_ , he thought as he drifted into sleep, _I have a feeling this year won’t be as boring as I thought it would be_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, you didn't miss it; I purposely did not mention what house Harry got into. Up to interpretation.


End file.
